Please can you turn with me in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 1.
Just a reminder that if you want to scan the QR codes on the screens,
! You can pick up the sermon in different languages if that is helpful to you.
As we think together about God, our good creator, king.
But before we get to God's creation,
I imagine winter for many is a season where the jigsaw puzzles come out.
My local charity shop makes a promise that every jigsaw that comes in second hand have no pieces missing.
And I'm yet to pull the trigger and trust them enough to actually buy one.
But picture with me just for a moment the frustration.
If you were to go to a charity shop to pick up a new jigsaw this winter season
and you open the box only to discover that some of those crucial edge pieces can't be found.
And now you recognize you've got no border and you've got no structure with which to work in.
Or as you get on in the jigsaw, the pieces are jumbled up.
You thought you were making a beach scene,
but you keep finding pieces of snowy mountains and it's a bit confusing.
Or worse still, you open the box and as you turn over the pieces,
you discover that the picture in no way is going to match what's on the front of the box.
You have no guide to put those pieces together.
Do you know that's how some people feel about life?
Some people struggle to find purpose and structure.
There are so many people who are not clear how to make sense of the various pieces of our lives.
There are many people who are muddling on day to day with no clear guide about the big picture.
No answer to the big questions.
Why am I here?
Who am I?
Who made me?
Where is all this heading?
Genesis 1 helps to put the pieces together.
We thought last week, in the beginning, God.
That reveals the big picture.
That the world that we live in is a world made by an eternal creator.
Now we're going to think some more about the fact that he made it with order and goodness.
And next week especially, we'll recognize that we are made to relate to him in the world that he has made.
So that to understand Genesis 1 to 3 is to find the picture to help give shape and structure and sense to our lives.
So this week what we're going to do is we're going to look at days 1, well not all of day 6, day 1 to 6a of Creation Week.
As I said at the beginning, we're going to leave it on a cliffhanger.
We're going to spend all of next week thinking about what does it mean that we are made in the image of God.
If you know people with questions about image and identity, next week would be a great week to bring someone to church.
But this week what we're going to see is that God's creation displays his order, it displays his goodness, and it displays the fact that he is the king who rules.
And it does that for a very particular purpose.
So that you and I would worship him.
So let's think about the goodness of God's order within creation.
So just a little word about the writing style of Genesis 1 from verse 3 to verse 31.
Scholars call it exalted prose.
Now that's important because two things become clear.
It is making true claims about the world that we live in, but it's using language for a particular purpose.
It's wanting to invite in us as readers and hearers a sense of reflecting and wonder and worship towards this creator God.
And one way that the language does that is through the order that we find within chapter 1.
There is order, first of all, in the structures.
Maybe we are familiar with this, the big picture of days of forming and days of filling.
So days 1 to 3 we find the forming of light and dark.
Then day 2, the sea and the sky.
And then day 3, there's the land and the plants that are formed.
And then on days 4 to 6, there's filling.
That's when we discover the sun, the moon and the stars.
Then day 5, the fish and the birds.
And then on day 6, animals and people.
And we'll get there next time.
So we're presented with here are three locations.
And here is God providing inhabitants for each of those locations.
There is a clear order.
And that's important.
The order is further emphasized, isn't it, in the repeating patterns.
You would have heard them as Sarah read the Bible for us.
Look at day 1 with me.
Just day 1 is a great example because it's got all the patterns.
Verses 3 to 5.
So look at how the verse begins.
And God said, let there be.
In this case, let there be light.
So a command is announced from the king.
And immediately we discover, and there was light.
What God commands happens.
God brings things into existence.
And there is perfect, immediate fulfillment.
There is no struggle when God creates.
The next pattern, verse 4.
God saw that the light, it was good.
And we're going to come back to that.
But here's this idea of, here is God the artist.
Just for a moment, stepping back.
To admire the masterpiece that he is in the process of creating.
Another pattern we find in verse 4.
He separated the light from the darkness.
And this reminds us that the world that we live in is not chaotic.
That God created and set limits.
That's part of the order he establishes.
You know, the sea can go here, but no further.
Because there is the limit of the land so that people can live on the land.
Verse 5.
There was another pattern.
God called the light day and the darkness he called night.
And again, to name something was a sign of authority over something.
This is a kingship term.
God has rights over it.
And then that closing rhythmic pattern.
And there was evening and there was morning.
The first day, the second day and so on.
The division of time into days.
And again, we're presented with a picture of God.
The workman, the craftsman.
Six days he will work.
On day seven, he will rest.
That pattern then given to us.
And we'll think about that in a couple of weeks when we get to Sabbath.
All these repeating patterns we find within Genesis 1 are saying to us,
our world was made by God with order, not chaos that is careful planning, that is absolute control.
Here's another way in which we see the goodness of God's order.
It's in the species that are mentioned.
Now, of course, Genesis 1 is not a science textbook.
It's not claiming to be a science textbook.
When the first hearers were listening to Moses, the questions that they were asking about the world
were not the same questions that we ask in the 21st century.
You know, maybe we ask questions about the age of the earth or the time periods of each day.
That wasn't the principal concern of the Israelites.
They wanted to know who is the true God?
Where did all this come from?
And Genesis 1 helps with that.
But there's also elements of the beginnings of science within Genesis 1.
And it is significant, if you're ever interested, to read the history of science.
You'll understand that the history of science in large part began with Christians
because they read passages like Genesis 1 and they understand certain principles.
that if God made the world with order, then we can expect order and coherence within the world.
So we can do science.
We can expect to find patterns.
But it's interesting to see in Genesis 1, isn't it, the classification systems that emerge here.
For those of us who are interested in botany,
God said,
God doesn't just make one kind of tree or plant.
There is a multitude.
There's diversity.
And that's part of the beauty, isn't it?
He does the same with marine biology.
In verse 21,
God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems.
He does the same with ornithology.
Every winged bird according to its kind.
And then for those who are studying veterinary,
there's zoology.
God made the wild animals according to their kinds,
the livestock according to their kinds,
and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.
And for the Israelites, and for us as well,
we understand certain things.
When we plant a particular crop, we plant some wheat.
And we know that if the conditions are right,
it's going to grow and produce more wheat.
If we keep cows,
if there are male and female cows,
baby cows will be produced.
So there is order,
there is predictability,
there is diversity,
there is beauty within God's created universe.
What is it telling us?
It's teaching us things about our world,
but I think fundamentally it's teaching us about our creator.
We are not here as the products of random chance.
We are here because there is a God of power,
and organization,
and wisdom,
and beauty,
and goodness.
The picture of creation in the beginning
was one of peace,
and harmony,
and beauty,
and clear order,
and all of it directed by and dependent on God.
We sang a little bit of Psalm 104.
Psalm 104 has 34 verses
celebrating the world's a wonderful place,
God made it,
and it's beautiful,
and it's good.
But it concludes with verse 35,
which begins to get us to the problem
of why we don't always see order and beauty in our world.
Because it introduces those who are wicked,
those who reject God,
those who turn their back on God's grace,
and that's where disorder comes from.
That's where the scarring in the universe comes from.
And we'll discover as we get through
the opening chapters of Genesis
that human beings,
made in the image of God,
made with free will,
freely chose to rebel,
freely chose to depart from God's created order,
not content to enjoy life under His good rule.
And that's what the Bible calls sin.
And sin is what stains God's masterpiece.
And sin is the reason why we don't always see
order and peace in our world and in our hearts.
But just to say this also,
how does that,
when we think about the whole story of the Bible,
how does the good news of the Bible offer hope
when we see that kind of chaos and disorder
in our world and in our hearts?
It gives us hope as we understand
that God knew from eternity past.
The same God who planned the galaxies
is the same God who planned
for the cross of the Lord Jesus.
He planned that His Son,
the Lord Jesus, would come,
the perfect image bearer,
the only one who would ever live
a perfectly ordered life,
surrounded by the chaos of sin.
Jesus always loved,
always obeyed,
always sought the glory of God.
That's what we were made to do,
but we don't.
And in His death,
there is forgiveness,
that the stain of sin is removed
with the promise
that as Jesus rose and returned to heaven,
He will return one day.
And at His return,
this world will be restored
to perfect, eternal peace,
order, and harmony.
No more of the fighting that we see,
no more of the brutality
that troubles us,
no more anxious hearts,
no more guilty consciences.
So as we search for order
and peace and harmony
in our life or in our heart,
the Bible will say to us,
God says to us,
you need to know me.
You need to come to me
through my Son, Jesus.
You need to place your faith in Jesus
to find your longings made,
to find Him as Lord and Savior.
Well, that's the order.
But let's think about another theme
that clearly emerges from Genesis 1,
and it's the idea of the goodness of God
that we find in His world.
I was out on Brunsfield links early this week,
and I got talking with a neighbor,
and he, like me,
was standing admiring the view.
There was Arthur's seat,
the sun was shining,
the trees were kind of dappled
in different colors of light,
there was a beautiful clear blue sky,
and it was one of those moments of awe.
Psalm 19,
the heavens declare the glory of God,
and the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
If you saw pictures of the Rora Borealis,
or if you got to see them with your own eyes,
we know this is true.
What are we supposed to do
when we see goodness in the world?
Now, we know something of this
as a natural instinct.
When we hear great music,
we are drawn to praise
the composer and the performer.
When we eat a great meal,
we are drawn to praise
the cook or the chef.
Genesis 1 is designed
to help those first Israelites
and us today to understand
who is it that we should praise
for the beauty that we see all around us,
whether that's in the world
on a grand scale,
or whether it's just as we see
something beautiful
in the people around us.
I came across this
from Thomas Aquinas
as he was reflecting on creation.
I appreciate this.
He said,
God brought things into being
in order that His goodness
might be communicated to creatures
and be represented by them.
And because His goodness
could not be adequately represented
by one creature alone,
He produces many
and diverse creatures.
God wants us to look around
with eyes to see His goodness
in the world that He has made.
So we're going to consider,
just for a few moments,
the implications of the repeating phrase,
it was good.
We hear it again and again.
God creates
and God declares it is good.
The first thing it says to us
is that God created the world
with beauty
and with care.
Maybe we know something
of this
making satisfaction.
Do you ever step back
from a piece of work
and you say,
that's good.
If like me,
you really know
very little about DIY,
you might even get
that kind of satisfaction
when you put in a light bulb
and you switch the light on
and it comes on,
you think,
that's good.
Maybe you agonize
over a piece of work,
you finish an assignment
and you're happy with it.
You turn in,
you think,
that's a good piece of work.
You're playing some music,
you're playing on the sports field
and everything just seems
to go well.
You can reflect
and say in a moment
or afterwards,
hey,
that was good.
That's what God does
in the essential,
ultimate way.
God did not throw
the world together
in a haphazard way.
Where I come from,
we have a saying,
it's good enough for sky.
Which basically means,
it's not wonderful,
but it's alright.
And that's kind of
the attitude
from where I came from.
But that's not
how God creates.
That's never
how God creates.
Think about the attention
that God gives
to the details
of each individual snowflake.
the diversity
of plant or animal life.
Or those great visions
of his beauty
if you saw the aurora
or you look at Arthur's seat.
God looks at all of that
and he says,
that's good.
Because he created
with beauty and care.
And unlike our works,
there is never a moment
where God is frustrated,
where God has to rip it up
and try again.
There are no failures
or plan B's.
When God creates,
he creates good
and only good.
Something else
that's important
is that God was pleased
with his creation.
I don't know
if that's something
that we reflect on.
That when God looks
at his world,
it's not like,
perhaps,
your childhood report cards
or your report
from your teacher.
Do you know
what you could do better?
Or if you have
that sense of frustration
between,
in my head,
I know exactly
what I want to create
or produce,
but when I come to do it,
it never quite looks
as good as the image
that I have.
You know that frustration
of the gap?
God has no frustration.
His perfect mind
creates a perfect world.
And God is perfectly
pleased with his creation
because it reflects
his wisdom
and his goodness.
And that's the third thing
that's so important
for us to see
and to grasp practically
is that something of God
is reflected in his creation.
Not all of God,
but something of God.
Manly Hopkins,
the poet,
had that great line,
the earth is charged
with the grandeur of God.
The earth pulses
and vibrates
with the grandeur
and glory of God.
And we can see something
of his creativity,
of his order,
of his beauty
all around us in the world.
God is the source
of all goodness.
We can trace
his fingerprints
in every good gift,
in every good
of this creation.
Now, why is it important
that God highlights
his goodness
in Genesis 1?
First of all,
it helps to cultivate
a sense of thankfulness
that leads to worship.
Now, that can happen
in many ways
depending how we look
at the world.
We can think big scale.
You know,
the Goldilocks effect
of the universe,
the fine-tuning
of the universe
where everything
is just right
for human life
and flourishing.
Now, that might be
what leads us
to thankfulness
and worship.
Or it might just be
the goodness
of a good cup of coffee
or a really nice breakfast
or the gift of family,
everyday life.
Every good gift
comes from our good God.
And even though
we recognize
that our world
is now fallen,
that there is a measure
of brokenness,
it still retains
aspects,
wonderful aspects
of the glory
and the goodness
of God.
More than enough
to draw our hearts
towards Him.
More than enough
to see His eternal power
and His divine nature.
And so the world
is designed
to help us
to worship,
to live in God's world
without thanking Him
for His gifts,
without recognizing Him
as Creator.
it is to play
the spoiled child
who never says
thank you
for any gift.
But I think
it's also important
that the goodness
of creation
is highlighted
because it helps us
to get our attitude
towards creation
right.
Because it says to us
this world
is good.
This world
matters.
But it also says to us
this world
is not God.
And that's important
again for worship.
Because the Bible
is really clear
to worship
created things
rather than
the Creator.
Well that's idolatry.
And that's what goes
against the grain
of the universe
and that goes
against the grain
of why we were created.
So we should
go bodily
creation.
But we shouldn't
worship it
and think
well this is it.
we recognize
that God
looked at the world
that he made
and he saw it
as good
and very good
and at our best.
So should we.
And so we should
expect
and be looking
for
beauty
that takes
our breath away
and other people
who inspire us
profoundly.
But in those
moments
we want to be
so careful
to keep turning
to give thanks
and worship
to the God
who made it all.
the God
who enables us
to get even
faint outlines
of his goodness
and glory
within his creation
and to recognize
as we heard
from 2 Corinthians 4
that God's goodness
was made visible
in a profound way
when Jesus came
revealing the light
of God's truth
and love
and salvation
drawing our hearts
to him.
Well one last thing
to say
briefly
and that's about
the kingship
and the rule
of God
that we find
here in Genesis 1.
Let me take you back
we were here last week
to the first people
that ever heard
this message.
They are in
the wilderness
they're in the desert
they're at
the door
of their tents
here they are
little family groups
and they're listening
as Moses begins
to teach
Genesis 1.
Recently
their family story
for 400 years
has been
of being slaves
in a foreign country
in Egypt
and when they hear
the creation stories
of Egypt
they hear about
lots and lots
of local tribal gods
and they hear about
lots of fighting
between gods
and actually
they hear about
lazy gods
who decided
they didn't want
to work anymore
and that's why
people were made.
So that was
the creation stories
that they were hearing
and if you hear
that for long enough
we wouldn't be surprised
to find that
the jigsaw pieces
became all a jumble
and then Genesis 1
is heard
a gift from God
to bring order
to present
a beautiful
and good picture
of the world
that God has made
and a picture
of God
as the one
and only God
and the one
true king
so that
the one
that had called
them out of slavery
is the one
that they would
gladly follow
obey
love
and worship.
And you know
those desires
are the same
from God
for each one
of us today.
And so
in the language
of Genesis 1
we are reminded
of the king
who creates.
And so we mentioned
this in the pattern
let there be
verse 3
let there be light
or verse 9
let the water
under the sky
be gathered
into one place.
This is the king
who speaks
and his word of power
is effective.
There is no authority
that stands
against him.
His commands
are always followed.
There is no disorder,
there is no struggle,
there is no fighting
against his will.
It's absolute
because he is the king
and he is the king
who creates.
And we said it as well
in the order
he is the king
who names.
God called
the light day
and he called
the dark night.
Verse 8
God called
the vault sky.
For those of us
who are interested
in football
a recent phenomenon
I guess
to generate more money
creative naming rights
over a stadium.
you know
a wealthy
organization
can pay enough money
and then they get to
change the name
of the stadium
as a way to
advertise their brand
naming rights.
The wonderful truth
about the universe
is that the whole universe
is advertising to us
a single reality
that God
is good
that he is eternal
that he is the creator
and he is the king.
He is the one
who names
because he is the one
who has rights
over it all.
And then finally
the king also
is proclaiming
a really important truth.
Let me take you back
to day 4
verses 14 to 19.
So remember
this is a group
who have just been
saved from slavery
and multiple idols.
They are going to hear
in the commandments
you know
I am God
there is no other
worship the Lord
your God
serve him only
don't create idols.
Let me take you back
to day 4.
Lots of detail
in day 4.
I don't know
if you've ever wondered
about the details.
Why does it get
so much attention?
Well back in Egypt
who were people
worshipping?
They were worshipping
the sun god
called Ra
and Pharaoh
who claimed
to be the son
of the sun god.
And in Egypt
they were fascinated
by the stars.
this is what controls
our fate
this is what controls
our destiny.
And so Genesis 1
is a response
and an answer
to that.
It puts them
in their proper place.
Look at verse 16.
How are they described
the sun and the moon?
They're just the greater light
and the lesser light.
Worship doesn't belong
to them.
It is their creator
who deserves praise.
Notice their purpose.
Verse 14.
These lights
are to serve
as signs
to mark sacred times
and days and years.
They serve the purpose
of people
and so that people
would know
when it's right
to worship God.
Not worship
the sun and the moon.
And then there's
the greatest throwaway line
perhaps in the whole Bible.
End of verse 16.
He also made the stars.
Those billions of galaxies
and constellations
that evoke so much wonder.
God made them.
So don't worship them.
Our fate
isn't written in the stars.
Our times are in God's hands.
And that's profoundly
good news.
Why do we need
to remember
the kingship of God
over creation?
Sometimes it's because
the world seems so chaotic
and we need to return
to that great truth.
I was drawn to
Acts 14
when Paul's on
his missionary journey.
He speaks about
the God of goodness
giving creation
to stand as a witness
to him
in the seasons
that we have,
in the food
we get to eat,
in the life
that we enjoy.
And that should make us
want to know
and enjoy
the one who rules
over it all.
And again,
it takes us into
the wonder
of the Bible story
of salvation.
Because who is Jesus?
He is God.
He is the Son.
He was the agent
of creation.
And he's also the King
who enters into
his creation.
Jesus who came
on a mission
to reveal the glory
of God,
to seek and to save
those who are lost
in the darkness
of sin.
The King who rules
in heaven
and calls us today
to trust him,
to enjoy him,
to love him,
to worship him,
to find peace
and order
when our life
is in right relationship
with our God.
And Genesis 1
reminds us
if we want to fit
the puzzle pieces
of our life
into place
to know who we are,
why we're here,
where this life
is heading,
we need first
to know our God.
And we come
to know our God
through Jesus,
his Son,
to know God,
our good Creator King.